state any two causes of scarcity of water
Answers
Answer:
Causes of water scarcity are aplenty. However, we must first understand the term water scarcity.
Water scarcity refers to the situation where the potable, unpolluted water is lower than the demand in a region.
According to recent reports, nearly 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, water shortages can cause a variety of illnesses which can range from food poisoning to cholera.
Typically, water scarcity is driven by two important factors – which is the increasing use of freshwater and depletion of usable freshwater resources. Furthermore, the scarcity can be of two types – physical water scarcity and economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is caused when a natural water resource is unable to meet the demands of a particular region. Economic water scarcity is caused by the mismanagement of sufficiently available water resource. However, there are a lot more causes of water shortage:
Major Causes Of Water Scarcity
Following are some of the major causes of water shortage:
Climate change
Natural calamities such as droughts and floods
Increased human consumption
Overuse and wastage of water
A global rise in freshwater demand
Overuse of aquifers and its consequent slow recharge
Water Stress
When an individual is water-stressed, it implies that there is no sufficient access to potable water. An estimated 1.1 billion people are under water stress. In countries such as Africa, a large percentage of individuals have no easy access to fresh water. One of the most common methods of acquiring freshwater is by digging holes in riverbeds.
Scarcity of water can also cause water pollution. For instance, if inadequate water is available for sanitation, water gets polluted through the introduction of disease-causing pathogens. In fact, 88% of all water-borne diseases are caused this way. Furthermore, water scarcity can cause an imbalance in the ecosystem. Foodchains are affected, and biodiversity is harmed.